


at the end of the day (I'm yours) (you're mine) (we're another day older)

by ernyx



Category: MCU, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, Gambling, Insecure Clint Barton, Insecurity, Light Angst, Manipulative Natasha Romanoff, On the Run, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), but only towards her victims, implied prostitution
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-11
Updated: 2018-05-11
Packaged: 2019-05-03 14:08:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14570667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ernyx/pseuds/ernyx
Summary: He's the one she wants to come back to (he's the one she keeps leaving behind)





	at the end of the day (I'm yours) (you're mine) (we're another day older)

**Author's Note:**

> prompt: ‘ stay with me tonight? ‘ from gcldenarcher  
> crossposted from my tumblr (artificiallyimplantedmemories)

     She’s traded out blonde for black, sweats for classy dresses, looking very much like she belongs in the upper echelons of society here in Eastern Europe. Her natural features lend themselves to this background anyway, and it’s made hiding in plain sight a lot easier than it had been in the States, in France, in the U.K., in all the places they’ve been together since the Avengers fell apart.

     Night after night finds her on the prowl, looking for her next victim– in the informational sense, at least. She uses a combination of wiles and weapons to keep herself updated on a variety of things, from the most recent sightings of Captain America to the locations of the next Hydra bases she wants to tackle. She is privy to  _everything_ , whether it be due to gaining passage to choice players’ homes, where she can pick locks and read through their papers, or by winning the trust and respect of a variety of officers. She’s a devilishly quick woman, they say, who always keeps you on your toes and leaves you wanting. She’ll take you apart, and you’ll laugh and beg for more.

     Clint is surely aware of who she has become, what she does. It’s not either of their preferred way for survival, especially because it reminds Natasha uncomfortably of the kind of life she led as a KGB agent, but it’s efficient. Still, something must really bother him about it to say that anyway.

           _Stay with me tonight?_

     It’s a question, rather than a command. It’s the hope of one man, his faith in their connection overriding what could be the next big break in their mission. Natasha pauses, hands still holding the ornate necklace she was going to put on to finish off her outfit, and then puts it down again on the table.

     “Clint,” she murmurs sadly, turning towards him and pulling him into an embrace. She still smells like herself right now, a hint of perfume, but no overwhelming colognes from the half dozen rich men she’ll likely interact with this evening. She has been challenged to a game of Preference, after she revealed her Russian blood to one of the contacts, and she intends to win some information from him tonight. “Clint, I’m sorry.”

     She can’t stay, not when there’s so much on the line, not when there’s a chance that she might be able to find the facility where they brainwashed Barnes, or maybe the names of the newest graduates of the Red Room. There’s too much at stake for sentiments to get in the way here, even if she hates that it has to be this way.

     “I’ll come back, okay? I promise. I’ll come back tonight.”  _I won’t stay with them. I’m not theirs, I’m yours, and I’ll do everything in my power to remind you that, but I can’t not go, not when I’m so close to the answers I seek. Please forgive me._  

     She presses their foreheads together, willing him to understand. They are non-entities in this life right now, either fugitives or simply not existing at all, and she has to make the best of the circumstances.

     “I love you,” she whispers to him, closing her eyes. “Kiss me before I go?”

**Author's Note:**

> Comments? Feedback? I'd love to hear it! Drop me a line either here or on my tumblr!


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